Lean manufacturing begins with a simple question: where does the material live? In most sheet metal shops, leftover sheet stock has no home. It collects on pallets, leans against columns, and migrates across the floor as machines are moved. A manual vertical rack for leftover sheet stock gives every remnant a fixed position, which is the foundation of 5S discipline, reliable inventory, and a cleaner production floor. Herochu builds the HC-V series as a practical, low-cost way to put that discipline in place.
Where leftover sheet stock goes wrong
Leftover stock is different from scrap. Scrap has a value per ton and a destination. Leftover stock still has cutting value, but only if someone can find it, identify it, and move it to a machine. In an unmanaged shop, leftover stock drifts into the scrap bin or gets buried under newer material, and the shop reorders full sheets it already owns. The losses are invisible on any P&L — no invoice, no line item — which is exactly why they persist. Storage is the control point: make every remnant findable, and the reuse rate climbs on its own.
A home for every remnant: 5S applied
The five S’s of lean housekeeping map directly onto the Herochu vertical rack. Sort: each drawer holds one size or material category, so unusable scrap is separated from usable stock. Set in order: the rack gives every remnant a fixed, labeled position. Shine: vertical storage keeps material off the floor and out of traffic, so the area stays clean and easy to inspect. Standardize: the layer positions become the shop’s standard storage map. Sustain: because retrieval takes seconds, operators keep the system in place instead of reverting to piles. Shops that adopt the rack often report that 5S audits stop flagging the material storage area entirely. Herochu positions the vertical rack as the storage half of a lean material system: the cutting equipment handles the work, and the rack handles the order between jobs.
Full sliding design, convenient access
The drawers in the HC-V series slide out as one integrated unit, so the operator sees the entire layer at full extension. No reaching, no shifting neighboring pieces, no guessing what is underneath. The full sliding design is what makes the rack practical for daily use: a drawer that only opens halfway would be abandoned within a week. Clear space between layers is 60 mm in the standard configuration, adjustable at the factory for thicker material, and a mechanical assistance system supports the discharge of heavy stock.
Sizing the rack to your sheet stock
Three questions size a vertical rack correctly. First, what is the largest leftover sheet you actually keep? That sets the model: HC-V2010-15 for pieces within 2000 × 1000 mm, HC-V2513-15 for 2500 × 1500 mm, and HC-V3015-15 for full 3000 × 1500 mm plate. Second, how many categories do you track? A shop separating carbon, stainless, and aluminum needs at least three drawers before size sorting begins, which is why Herochu recommends counting categories before counting layers. Third, how heavy is your thickest plate? The 1,000 kg per-layer rating covers standard sheet up to roughly 12 mm, and reinforced versions handle more. Shops that answer these questions before ordering almost never end up with the wrong rack.
The 15-layer models for bigger inventories
Shops that separate stainless, aluminum, galvanized, and carbon steel — or that track many remnant sizes — quickly run out of drawers. Herochu answers with the 15-layer configurations:
| Model | Board size | Layers | Load per layer |
|---|---|---|---|
| HC-V2010-15 | 2000 × 1000 mm | 15 | 1,000 kg |
| HC-V2513-15 | 2500 × 1500 mm | 15 | 1,000 kg |
| HC-V3015-15 | 3000 × 1500 mm | 15 | 1,000 kg |
The 15-layer models give a small shop the category separation of a large warehouse in the footprint of a single rack. The 8-layer models (HC-V2513-8 and HC-V3015-8) remain the economical choice for simpler material mixes.
Floor space economics
A vertical rack stores fifteen layers of material in the footprint of one pallet, using ceiling height that would otherwise sit empty. For a workshop squeezed between machines, that single decision can open floor area for a new workbench, a cart aisle, or a staging area beside the laser. Vertical storage also shortens material travel: the rack can stand next to the machine that consumes the remnants, so pick distance drops from meters of forklift driving to a few steps. In a small hall, the numbers add up: two flat piles of leftover stock, each covering 4 m², consume 8 m² of usable floor and force every forklift route around them. Two Herochu vertical racks replace those piles with roughly 3 m² of footprint, returning 5 m² for a cart lane or staging table while storing more material in the process.
Protection and stability
Even in a small shop, sheet stock gets damaged when it is piled. Soft non-slip liners on every layer prevent scratches and dents, and because each remnant rests alone, nothing presses into the surface of the material below it. The frame is welded from heavy-duty steel with a low center of gravity, so the rack stays stable when a loaded drawer is pulled out — an important detail when the operator works alone. Drawer stops hold each layer open while material is loaded or unloaded, and the mechanical assistance system keeps a heavy sheet from running away during discharge. These details matter most at the end of a shift, when fatigue can turn a heavy drawer into a hazard.
Procurement and installation
The HC-V series is a standard product with a standard schedule: delivery cycle of 30 days, on-site installation and debugging included, and online guidance available for remote sites. Customization covers frame dimensions, layer count, load capacity, and finish color. For a small shop, the practical path is simple — send the sheet sizes and material types to Herochu, and the rack arrives sized to the job, installed, and ready to load.
Every remnant finds a home
A manual vertical rack for leftover sheet stock from Herochu turns the shop’s most disorganized corner into its most predictable one. Material becomes findable, floor space becomes usable, and 5S audits stop finding excuses. Contact Herochu for a configuration matched to your material mix, and give every remnant a home.
